A few thoughts on imposter syndrome

I’m sure many of you are familiar with this term. For those who aren’t, imposter syndrome is the deep-seated feeling that you are a fraud, that you are faking it in some, or all, aspects of life.

I’ve been struggling with a bad case of imposter syndrome lately. It’s crippled my ability to come up with fresh post ideas and delayed progress on my novel. It’s a voice in my head blaring away like an over-caffeinated bully with a little megaphone glued to his lips — Hey, you! Yeah, you! What are you doing? Giving writing advice? Ha! Are you kidding me? You haven’t even published a novel yet. Knock it off you fraud. Quit wasting time and get back to work!

Speaking of work, I’m an accountant by trade, and pretty damn good at it if I do say so myself. No imposter syndrome there. My struggle is with writing: I should throw in the towel. I’m not that good at it, after all. I’m too busy. It’s a waste of time. Something I’ll never pay the bills with. Completing my novel is impossible, like climbing Everest in shorts without an oxygen mask. And even if I do manage to finish it, it will never be as good as those written by my heroes (yes, I’m looking at you Cormac McCarthy).

These are just some of the crazy thoughts that pop into my head like an uninvited house guest. You know the one. The crazy uncle who shows up on your front porch with a full suitcase wearing that ridiculous Hawaiian shirt. The solution? Write about it, of course. This post is an attempt to shine a light on how to rationally address imposter syndrome thoughts. I hope a few of these resonate with you.

Read the rest of the post on Medium.